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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813308">as the storm calms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavenMorozova/pseuds/lokiharlot'>lokiharlot (MavenMorozova)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Loki - Fandom, Loki: Agent of Asgard, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Depression (sort of?), F/M, Fluff, Gender-neutral Reader, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loneliness, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Nightmares, One Shot, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, no y/n</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:01:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28813308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavenMorozova/pseuds/lokiharlot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Darling.”<br/>At the sudden word, you looked up. Loki was leaning over your shoulder, and he reached out his hand to cup your cheek gently. “Please don’t cry, my love. Tell me what’s wrong.”<br/>Shit. You hadn’t wanted him to know about any of this.<br/>Choking back another round of tears, you turned to face him again, and Loki’s eyes softened as you smushed your face into his chest, still heaving between sobs. He wrapped his arms around you gently, cupping your back and stroking your hair. “It’s okay. I’m here.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki (Marvel)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>as the storm calms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>my friend sav on tiktok requested a loki-comforts-reader-after-a-nightmare fic and i was doing terrible myself lately, crying and feeling like shit (for the last several months really) and needing Loki in my life...so here we are!! reader can be any gender:)</p><p>please enjoy and i hope this cheers some people up like it did for me&lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was two o’clock in the morning when you woke up, breathing heavily and blinking the sleep from your eyes. You felt the weight come back to your arms first, then your legs and chest, a warm tingling sensation that filled your body. At the sight of the ceiling above your head, you let out an audible sigh. You were home. You were safe.</p><p>You couldn’t remember what you had been dreaming about, but you knew it was something terrible. There was still that sense of utter loneliness infused into you, a remembrance of a memory that didn’t actually exist. In this dream, you had been somewhere alone, trapped forever, a mindless abyss. Abandoned by everyone around you—your friends, your family, your roommate, <em> everyone… </em></p><p>You still couldn’t remember <em> where </em> this all had happened, but that wasn’t truly important. The fact was, your nightmares had been going on for a long time. And each time you had one, always  leaving you lying on your back on your bed, panting with tears in your eyes, you couldn’t help but slip deeper into that dangerous territory of melancholy. It wasn’t depression, at least you didn’t <em> think </em>it was, but there was no way you could afford to see a therapist anyway.</p><p>The worst part about it all was...someone was lying beside you at this very moment, someone you knew would be very willing to discuss all of your insecurities and internalized solitude. Your dreams were manifestations of your mind, after all, and you knew that the god slumbering beside you would want to help you. He loved you. Loki, the Prince of Asgard, loved you.</p><p>But as all of this might have been, you didn’t want to burden him with the responsibility of knowing your troubles. Deep inside, you were afraid that he’d shut you out, that he’d be above such mortal constructs such as loneliness. At least, you assumed it was such.</p><p>And so you told him nothing, and night after night, your dreams worsened.</p><p>Thinking about it all now left you with a tight lump in your throat, a pressure waiting to be released with tears.</p><p>Finally, you let them come, a sob escaping your mouth before you could slap a hand over your mouth. Rolling away from Loki’s figure, you clutched the covers in your hands, burying your face in them.</p><p>“Darling.”</p><p>At the sudden word, you looked up. Loki was leaning over your shoulder, and he reached out his hand to cup your cheek gently. “Please don’t cry, my love. Tell me what’s wrong.”</p><p><em> Shit. </em> You hadn’t wanted him to know about any of this.</p><p>Choking back another round of tears, you turned to face him again, and Loki’s eyes softened as you smushed your face into his chest, still heaving between sobs. He wrapped his arms around you gently, cupping your back and stroking your hair. “It’s okay. I’m here.”</p><p>You had always loved the sound of his voice, and it soothed you even further now, allowing your muscles to relax under the softness that was his presence. “Thank you, Loki.”</p><p>In response, Loki kissed the top of your head. You could feel the warmth of his breath against your skin, and you closed your eyes, letting yourself sink into his embrace. His arms were warm and large and firm, a solid base for your mind to hang onto, but also soft enough to be tender.</p><p>“You can tell me anything, darling,” Loki murmured. “You don’t have to, of course, but whenever you need to. More than anything, remember that I love you.”</p><p>“I love you, too,” you whispered. A moment of silence passed. “I...had a nightmare.”</p><p>You could feel his hug tightening around your body, grounding you, centering you. “It’s over now,” Loki replied quietly. “I’m here. I will protect you.”</p><p>Despite his calming words, a sliver of dread was worming its way through your veins, making its way to your heart. After a moment’s hesitation, you decided to give voice to your doubts. “Loki…”</p><p>“Yes, my love?”</p><p>“It’s not the first time,” you admitted, clenching your eyes shut, almost painfully so. You hated that you had kept this secret from him.</p><p>“What do you mean?” asked Loki. He cupped your face in his large hand, lips brushing against yours with the utmost softness. “You’ve had this dream before?”</p><p>Slowly, you nodded. “It’s been going on for awhile.”</p><p>Loki’s shoulders slumped, but he did not let go of you. Your heart melted at the sudden pleading in his green eyes, wide and worried like a forlorn puppy. But Loki was always beautiful, even more so when he was anxious. <em> Especially </em> when he was anxious about <em> you. </em></p><p>“Well…” he began cautiously, nuzzling your cheek with his nose. “Why don’t you tell me about it? That always helps.”</p><p>“Okay,” you replied meekly. Now that you were finally starting to open up to him, the option to rescind his offer seemed rather foolish. Now, you couldn’t imagine why you had wanted to hide this from him in the first place. “Well, a couple months ago I started having these dreams where I am abandoned by everyone,” you told him. “You, my friends, my parents, my co-workers, my professors...everyone. And I’m left in this whirlpool of mist, something I can’t understand, something beyond me, but it just sucks all the happiness out of me and leaves me in fear and isolation. I can’t remember the dream fully but it’s something like that.”</p><p>Suddenly, you were crying again, and Loki held you closer, one hand running soothingly along your back and the other caressing your jaw as he pressed a kiss to your temple. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea this was going on,” he said in a barely audible voice. Like you, he seemed ashamed. “My darling, I cannot apologize enough. I failed you.”</p><p>You heard the unspoken words in his voice, too. <em> I fail everyone. </em></p><p>That’s when you understood: he was just as insecure as you were.</p><p>“Loki, you didn’t fail me,” you told him gently, cupping his face in your hands and staring into those emerald green eyes. “You are here now. No one can read minds.”</p><p>“Some can,” he said bitterly, and despite the situation, you laughed. “Please don’t tell me you’re jealous.”</p><p>“Me? Jealous?”</p><p>There was a great irony in that, but you pressed your lips together, refusing to tempt his ire.</p><p>After a moment, Loki sighed. “Still, I’m sorry. I wish I had known. I would have held you like this every night.”</p><p>“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that it was going on.” Unexpectedly, your voice cracked on the last inflection. “Loki, I’m so <em> lonely.” </em></p><p>His mouth parted, worried emotion expressed on every single feature of his countenance. “My love…”</p><p>“I’m so lonely,” you blubbered out again. “Everyday, it feels like you’re the only one I have, and I’ll never be good enough. I just want to be in your arms all the time. It’s the only place I feel at home anymore.”</p><p>You were sobbing again, fat tears dripping down your face. You knew you sounded melodramatic and were probably overreacting, but you didn’t care. You could still feel the aftermath of your dream, what was coming to feel like a tornado, spinning you around and around before it finally spit you out, bruised and battered and damaged. Almost broken.</p><p>“Shh…” Loki cooed, kissing your hair, your forehead, your eyelids, your lips. “You have my arms. My body. They all belong to you, my love. Forever. I will never leave you, you understand?”</p><p>Eyes still watery, you nodded.</p><p>Loki lifted your chin then, forcing you to make eye contact with him. “Those are just dreams, my dear,” he whispered. The room was silent aside from those gentle tones leaving his lips, the sound of it comforting and sensual all at once. “You and I? We are the real things. Our love is the real thing. And your mind is trying to convince you that you’re alone, but you’re not. Your professors respect you. Your family loves you. Your friends miss you. Understand?”</p><p>At the gentle dominance in his tone, you couldn’t help but nod. “Yes, Loki.”</p><p>He smiled, just a little, the expression more bittersweet than anything else. “I love you so much.”</p><p>“I love you, too,” you whispered, and as the witching hour faded on, Loki continued to hold you, allowing you to finally fall into a dreamless sleep upon his chest.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments are always appreciated--i'd love to know what you think:)<br/>stay safe everyone!</p><p>come say hi to my on tumblr @lokiharlot!</p><p>(p.s. all future inserts will be under my new pseud for reader inserts: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MavenMorozova/pseuds/lokiharlot">lokiharlot</a>)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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